Hasina Muhammad was 2-for-13 from the floor. She scored four points and grabbed nine rebounds in Auburn's 56-43 loss to Drexel in the WNIT quarterfinals. (Lauren Barnard/Auburn Media Relations)

AUBURN, Alabama -- Auburn seemingly grabbed all the
rebounds and frustrated every team with its pressure defense in the
Women's National Invitation Tournament.

And then Drexel came to town.

The Dragons (26-10) ran their motion
offense with crisp passes and drilled open looks from the floor, and the Tigers' defense never seemed to frustrate them as they cruised to a 56-43 victory Saturday
night.

The loss ended Auburn's season -- and
the careers of three seniors -- in front of 1,421 at Auburn Arena.
Drexel will face Florida in the semifinals of the WNIT next week.

"Everything we could have done wrong, we did," Auburn coach Terri Williams-Flournoy said. "We're a much better team than what we showed today. However, I am still very proud of our young ladies."

Auburn (19-15) simply could not hit a
shot in the final minutes of the first half, a dominant stretch on
offense and defense for Drexel. It was easily the worst stretch of
the season for the Tigers, who did not hit a field goal in the final
11 minutes, 13 seconds of the first half. Meanwhile, Drexel went on a
17-1 run to take a 30-12 lead at halftime.

"We knew," Williams-Flournoy said. "We kept looking at the clock and we were stuck on 11. It was very frustrating. It was as if the basket had a lid on it."

The Tigers, who defeated their first
three opponents in the tournament by an average of 20 points or more,
hit 14.3 percent of their shots in the first half. The Tigers were not much better at the free-throw line, going 2-for-10 in the first half.

Tyrese Tanner and Blanche Alverson scored 16 and 15 points, respectively. Alverson, a senior, wiped tears from her eyes as she walked off the court.

"It's just tough. It really is," Alverson said. "Coach Flo said it best, you never want to go out with a loss -- a 2-point loss, a 30-point loss, anything like that. We just didn't play well. It's tough to go out when you don't play well."

Drexel went on a 7-0 run to erase a 5-0
deficit early in the game and never looked back. Alverson hit the Tigers' final shot of the first half on a 3-pointer with 11:13 remaining.

Auburn also struggled at the free throw line, hitting 35.3 percent of its free throws.

Hollie Merson led Drexel with 19 points and 13 rebounds.

Note: Alverson will participate in the College 3-point Championship at the Final Four in Atlanta on Thursday.